Ripple Effect
by GetWithIt
Summary: AU. OC-Centric. There's an extra member of the Evans family, she's not supposed to be there, but she is. Just how much can one young witch alter just by existing? Apparently, quite a bit. (Disclaimer - If you recognize it, I don't own it!)
1. Chapter 1

When I was born, I didn't realize that I wasn't supposed to be there. I didn't know what my presence would end up doing to the events that were supposed to happen. I also didn't realize how tragic the world I had been born into would be.

I had two older sisters. One was a full seven years older than me, while the other was five and a half years my elder. They doted on me and dressed me up in silly outfits when our parents allowed it.

So I lived as a normal little girl, trailing after my sisters from the time I could walk. It was to them that I first mentioned my dreams.

"Hey Tuney, Leelee, how come I'm a little girl?" I asked as I walked into Lily's bedroom.

"Because everybody has to start out small and grow bigger Violet," said Petunia patiently.

"But that's not true! I was a big girl in my dream! I was bigger than you _and_ Lily!" I cried, angry that they were lying to me.

"Violet, calm down. I'm sure it was a very nice dream but that's no reason to shout at 'Tuney," scolded Lily. With that she hopped off the bed to pick me up and set my chubby four year old body down on the bed with her and Petunia.

Petunia started to braid my wispy, strawberry-blonde locks and Lily went back to reading her book. "Was it really only a dream," I asked. "Because I don't want it to be a dream. I was going to get to drive a car before it ended…"

My sisters just laughed and proceeded to tell me about all the fun things I could still do as a kid. By the end I was giggling and making plans to jump into my parents' bed _very _early in the morning.

"Oh! I nearly forgot! I've got to go meet Sev, we're going to go sit by the river and talk," with that Lily scrambled up and slipped on her shoes.

"I don't like that boy," said Petunia. "You shouldn't meet with him."

"Nonsense. He's my friend. I'm sure you'd like him if you got to know him," Lily was frowning at Petunia as I looked back and forth between them.

"Is he the new friend you were talking about Leelee?" I asked. "Can I meet him? I wanna go down to the river too!"

Lily looked at and Petunia harrumphed. "He's a bad boy Violet. You don't want to meet him."

"Yes I do!" "He is not!" Lily and I answered at the same time. Petunia just scowled and got up.

"Fine. I'll just wait for you to come to your senses," she sniffed. And with that she stormed out of the bedroom.

Lily just sighed. "Come on Vi, I'll ask mummy if I can take you outside. If she says yes you can come and meet him."

"Yay!" I shouted.

When our mum did, in fact, say 'yes' I practically dragged Lily out the door. "Come on and take me to your friend. I haven't got all day!" She laughed and took my hand, leading the way.

Eventually we came to a small field by a shallow and slow moving river. A thin, sallow little boy Lily's age was already there. He looked very serious sitting there in the grass. His black hair was to his shoulders and his clothes were of poor quality. "Severus!" shouted Lily. "I'd like you to meet my little sister Violet. Violet, this is Severus Snape."

"How d'you do?" I said, hiding a bit behind Lily's legs. The boy looked uncomfortable and mumbled something unintelligible back. Lily groaned.

"Come on you two! No need to be shy." And with that she pulled me out from behind her and sat me down right next to her friend. She sat down in front of us and smiled brightly.

I decided to be brave for my sister and turned to the boy. "Hi," I chirped. "Lily says you're her best friend so even though 'Tuney doesn't like you, I'll be your friend too!"

The older kid stared at me before he burst out laughing and Lily spluttered. "It's not that 'Tuney doesn't like you Sev! It's just that, well–"

He cut her off, "It's okay. I know she doesn't like me. I don't care though since she's only a muggle."

Lily frowned and opened her mouth but I cut in first. "What's a 'muddle'?"

The boy looked at Lily and she answered. "A _muggle_, Vi. That's what Severus calls people who can't do magic."

"Oh," I said. "So what are you then? You can't be a muddle since you make magic flowers – Oh! Can you make a flower dance for me? Please? It's been so long!" I forgot all about the conversation and turned pleading eyes on my sister.

She sighed, seeing my attention was lost and stood up. "Watch her for a moment Sev. I've got to go pick a flower for her to play with or she'll never quiet down."

"B-but!" Unfortunately for the boy my sister was already running off. I turned towards him and reached out a hand.

"Can I touch you hair? I've never seen hair so dark before, it's very pretty!" He mumbled something and I took it for a yes. We spent the next few minutes sitting silently as I petted his hair. "I wish I knew how to braid," I moaned. All he did was send me a dark look.

"Hey, Sevr-serus-sev?" I asked. "Are you a muddle?"

"No!" he scoffed. "I'm not a _muggle_. I'm a wizard and Lily's a witch."

"So you can do magic too? You're so amazing!" I whispered. He blushed and turned his head away. I grabbed his hands in my tiny ones and crawled onto his lap.

"Can you teach _me_ magic?" I asked making my eyes as big and round as I could like my sisters taught me to do when I wanted something from my parents. "I've never done magic before, but I really want to learn! I dream about magic at night and I wanna do it during the day too. You and Leelee could teach me to do it and I'd be good and listen the whole time!" I finished without taking a breath.

If it were possible, the boy looked even more uncomfortable. "I can't teach you magic," he said very carefully, "It's something people like me and Lily are born with…"

"Oh," I whispered, feeling very sad. I then perked up and blinked the wetness away from my eyes almost immediately. "Then you and Leelee can do magic for me! Leelee already makes flowers dance – what can you do? It'd better be something cool or I won't be impressed!"

I stared at him intently as his eyebrows rose in surprise then he blushed in embarrassment. "I-er, well, I can't really control it as well as Lily…" he wouldn't look at me. "There's a school Lily and I will go to, to learn magic, but we aren't supposed to do magic in front of muggles at all and-"

"Even me?" I asked. When he nodded I pouted. "That's not fair! I want to see magic," I stomped my foot for emphasis, having stood up to rant. "You and Leelee will just have to play magic with me in secret then."

Lily had come back with a few yellow flowers in her hand and had heard the last part of our conversation. "Don't worry Violet," she consoled me. "Until we turn eleven we're allowed to do magic since it's supposedly accidental. As long as we keep it a secret and don't let those outside the family see."

I smiled at her, "So you can still make the flowers dance for me?" I could feel eager hope welling inside my chest.

"Of course I can Vi. Come here," and with that I ran over as she set the flowers on the ground and frowned in concentration. A few moments later she waved her hand over them and smiled when they started to dance around. I laughed gleefully when I noticed that she'd chosen flowers with at least two leaves on their stems – making it look as though they had arms to wave around as they spun.

Lily merely shook her head at my obvious fascination and said, "You can stay here and play with the flowers sweetie, me and Sev are going to be right over there under the tree. Come get us if you need anything." I merely waved her away and started dancing with the flowers.

The next two hours were spent with me dancing and resting at turns. I spent my time watching the flowers when I felt too exhausted to move, only to join in again after a quick rest.

Occasionally, I'd look over and see my sister and her friend talking and laughing together. Her dark haired friend finally looked relaxed. When we'd first arrived there was an aura of stiffness and misery about him. After spending time with Lily though, he looked happy, like a kid should be.

Quite suddenly, a strange thought floated into my mind, _'They won't be friends forever…'_ I followed the thought, trying to figure out where it came from. All I could come up with was the hazy memory of a lake and... a castle? It was too hard to remember, but I could tell it had something to do with my vision_._ Or rather, the dream, since that's what my sisters said it was. Yes, it was definitely a dream – Tuney and Leelee wouldn't lie to me.

Still though, I felt worried about my sister and her best friend. I didn't want my sister to cry! So I turned to the perpetually dancing flowers. "Follow me! We've gotta make my sister and Sev'rus promise to stay best friends."

I waved them after me and they danced along as I skipped over to the tree. Lily looked up first, "Hey Vi – oh! I didn't realize we'd been here so long! We have to head home or we'll be late for dinner." She scrambled to her feet and hastily pulled her friend to his feet as well. "Sorry Sev, I guess I lost track of time…"

"Wait Leelee I –"

"Don't worry about it Lily. I won't be in any trouble so long as I'm home before dark," Severus said with a small smile toward my sister.

"Would you listen? This –"

I was once again ignored as my sister answered, "Okay Sev, but don't let me blab the hours away next time. If you ever have to leave or need to tell me something go ahead and interrupt. I don't want you to get in trouble because you're too nice to me!"

"It's –"

This time I interrupted. "WOULD YOU TWO JUST STOP AND LISTEN FOR A SECOND? THIS IS IMPORTANT!"

The two older kids froze and the flowers stopped dancing and fell to the grass, lifeless once again. Seeing I had their attention I calmed down and continued, "I want you two to promise to always be best friends no matter what." I turned to glare at them each in turn, "I don't want my sister to be sad and I don't want Sev'rus to be sad either. So you have to promise to be friends with each other _and_ me! 'Cause I want magic friends and I'm don't want to lose them if you two fight!"

Lily started to laugh while her friend just gave me an incredulous look. "Okay Vi," she turned to the dark-haired boy, "Promise to always be friends with me and my little sister?"

"Y-yeah," he mumbled, once again blushing.

I gave them a wide smile, "Okay, _now_ we can go to dinner. Oh! Can I tell mummy that I have secret magic friends?"

"Let's keep it between us for now Vi. Now say goodbye to Sev and we'll head home," Lily was giving me a fond smile and shaking her head.

"Okay," I chirped. I ran over to Severus and hugged him around his legs, "Bye-bye Sev!" I ran back to Lily and took her hand as she laughed heartily at her friends shocked expression. Lily called out her own goodbye and turned to lead me home, still grinning a bit madly.

* * *

The next time Lily took me along to meet Severus I was five and it was a brilliant autumn day. I hadn't seen him for more than a few minutes at a time since our first meeting and was eager to go with Lily. She pulled me along after her and into a thicket of trees. She was still somewhat upset because Petunia had yelled at her for going to play with 'that lying Snape boy,' but she was cheering up the closer we got closer to our destination.

Severus was already there waiting, with an odd smock-like shirt that was identical to the one he'd worn before. I idly wondered if it was the same shirt, but decided I didn't care.

"Hey Lily, Violet," he called as we approached. He looked much more relaxed than the first time I met him.

"Hey Sev, I hope you don't mind that I brought Violet along – she was practically begging to see her other magic friend again," I ignored my sister's rolled eyes and ran to sit by the boy. Lily sat down a moment later, right across from Severus. When she glanced at the river visible through the trees to her left she gave me a stern look, "Vi, Sev and I are going to talk about magic and you're welcome to listen, just don't go near the river okay? It's too dangerous."

I nodded along. "Don't worry, I won't. I wanna hear 'bout magic anyway!"

So I sat and listened with wide eyes as Severus told us all about Hogwarts, Azkaban, and the Wizarding world. I didn't bother to ask many questions since Lily was asking enough for the both of us. When Severus brought up how the ministry for wizards and witches punishes those who do magic out of school Lily panicked a bit, until he reassured her that it still counted as accidental until she got her wand.

I was drowsy, since I usually napped in the afternoons, but had begged to go with Lily instead. I had curled up in her lap early on and had been only vaguely paying attention to the conversation for the past twenty minutes.

"It is real, isn't it? It's not a joke? Petunia says you're lying to me. Petunia says there isn't a Hogwarts. It is real, isn't it?"* Lily sounded oddly desperate and I thought of how our mum tells her to not do magic where people can see and how Petunia calls it unnatural. I woke up a little bit to listen to Sev's answer.

"It's real for us," said Severus. "Not for her. But we'll get the letter, you and me."*

"I wish I could do magic," I mumbled, still half-asleep. "Instead you two have to do it for me. You also have to show me a dragon when you grow up, I wanna see one…" I yawned.

Lily smiled at me before turning to Severus. "Do dragons exist too?"

"Yeah, but they're really dangerous. I don't think your sister would want to see one in real life," said Sev.

"Would too," I said petulantly.

My sister cut back in again, "How will the letters come? You mentioned wizard mail uses owls…"

"They do, but since you're a muggle-born they'll send someone to explain everything to your parents. At least, that's what my mom says."

"Does it make a difference, being Muggle-born?" Lily was nervously running her fingers through my pinkish locks.

"No," he said. "It doesn't make any difference."

"That's good," said my sister.

Severus smiled at her, "You've got loads of magic and even better control than me. I noticed, all that time I spent watching you…" He trailed off at the end looking sheepish.

Lily gently lifted me from her lap to sprawl on the ground, staring up through the leaves. "How are things at your house?"* She asked.

"Fine,"* he said, after glancing towards me briefly.

"They're not arguing anymore?"*

"Oh yes, they're arguing,"* said Severus. He picked up a ﬁstful of leaves and began shredding them distractedly. "But I'll be gone to Hogwarts soon."

"Doesn't your dad like magic?"*

"He doesn't like anything, much,"* he said curtly.

Lily had opened her mouth to say something but was cut off when we heard a noise in the direction opposite the river.

"Tuney!" Lily and I said simultaneously, happiness at seeing our sister clear in our voices. Severus however, had shot to his feet looking angry.

"Who's spying now?" he shouted. "What d'you want?"*

My sister looked both frightened and embarrassed and I could tell when she opened her mouth she was going to say something mean. She always did when she was flustered and upset; our mum had chastised her for it many times.

"Everybody stop it right now!" I shouted. Petunia's mouth was moving but no sound came out and Severus and Lily looked from her to me and back again. "Mummy says not to fight and she also says not to be mean Tuney."

I was breathing hard and Petunia was panicking a bit that her voice wouldn't work. She turned to glare at Severus but he only shook his head, "I didn't do it!" Her glare turned to Lily, but Lily only shrugged and glanced at me.

Petunia turned wide eyes on me just in time for her voice to return. "D-did you do that to me Violet?"

I suddenly felt really guilty. "I promise I didn't mean to Tuney! It's just, I knew you and Sev were gonna start arguing and I was scared that everyone would get mad and I'd have to go home!" I tried pleading with my eyes, but my sister just looked horrified.

She spun on Severus, "Now you've gone and contaminated my baby sister too! You're a despicable boy and a freak! Leave Lily and Violet alone!"

Before I could figure out what was happening the branch above Petunia had snapped and was falling towards her. Lily screamed and I gasped. It wasn't very large and only hit her shoulder but Petunia stumbled before bursting into tears and running away.

Lily turned to Severus, "You did that on purpose didn't you?!"

"No it wasn't–I didn't mean to…" Severus was looking a bit frantic at how to explain.

Lily didn't listen to a word of it, "You did! And you ended up hurting my sister!" She snatched my hand and pulled me after her, in the direction that Petunia had run. Leaving the dejected ten year old alone in the thicket.

* * *

It took weeks for Lily to forgive Severus and only after he explained that he'd been angry and couldn't control it. I was ecstatic that they were friends again and tagged along whenever Lily allowed it.

"I think your sister is a witch too," said Severus to my sister a few days after she'd forgiven him.

"Petunia?" She asked.

"No, Violet," he said glancing at me.

"Really?" I squeaked. "That's awesome! So I can do magic? Can I go to Hogwarts with you guys?"

Severus shook his head. "I'm not sure. I just think you might be since you silenced Petunia that one time, but you couldn't go to Hogwarts with us anyway. You'd have to wait till you're eleven."

"Y'know, she did stop my dancing flowers that first time we all got together," said Lily. "Remember? When she demanded that we stay friends so she could have two 'secret magic friends.'"

He smiled a bit at Lily as I pouted at the news that I couldn't go with them. "I will get to go someday though right?"

"Maybe," said Severus. "If you really are a witch."

I ignored the maybe and cheered aloud. "Great! Now I get to see a dragon!"

The two best friends laughed and shook their heads at me. They talked magic around me even more than before, though they did, however, make me promise not to tell my parents or anyone else. Apparently they were waiting for the Hogwarts letters to arrive so my parents would have proof and other people weren't supposed to know at all.

I agreed and practiced doing tiny bits of magic whenever I could. Lily taught me small things like moving flowers and Severus taught us both about potions. Sometimes he even brought a book with illustrations on how the potion was supposed to look.

Before I knew it, almost a year had passed and it was summer once again. Lily and Severus had been meeting daily to discuss Hogwarts and would whisper about magic as they sat on the floor of Lily's room. My mum and dad grew found of the boy and tried to keep Petunia away when he was over. They were constantly asking him to stay for dinner and my mum loved to fuss over him.

It got even worse after Lily confided in our mom that Severus' dad was mean to him. Poor Severus seemed really uncomfortable with all the attention and stuck by Lily whenever he was over.

Finally, the day that Lily had been waiting for arrived.

A knock came one day as we were all starting in on a late Saturday brunch. Our mother went to get the door and soon returned with a tall woman. The woman had dark hair pulled into a tight bun and was wearing black clothing I recognized as a robe from Severus' explanations.

"Please have a seat. You're welcome to join us for brunch. Is there anything you'd like to drink? We've got tea, juice, coffee…" My mum trailed off after offering the strict looking woman a seat.

"Tea would be lovely, thank you," replied the woman.

After our mum had handed over a teacup and sat back down the woman began to speak. Lily and I, already realizing what she was there for, clasped hands and listened intently.

"My name is Minerva McGonagall and I am the Deputy Headmistress at a very prestigious boarding school for talented children. I'm not sure if you're aware, but you daughter Lily is a very special girl and has been offered a place at my school.

"When I say that she is special I am referring to certain… abilities." Our parents exchanged wary looks. They'd seen enough from both me and my sister and were honestly a bit worried about what we could do.

"These abilities are perfectly natural. You see, your daughter is a witch. As a witch living in Britain she is afforded the opportunity to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. There she will learn to control her powers and be given the opportunity to make a life for herself amongst others of her kind, if that is what she chooses to do."

Mum looked positively relieved at the news. She had worried for a long time about what would happen to us if anyone discovered our quirks. Our dad on the other hand still looked skeptical and Petunia seemed to have disappeared.

"How can we be sure this isn't just some prank?" dad asked.

McGonagall's mouth quirked upwards. "If you desire proof I'm more than willing to provide it." With that she stood and pulled out her wand. With a flourish she turned the chair into a grey pony and levitated an apple from the table. She caught it midair and fed it to the pony before waving her wand again leaving a chair with a bright red apple on top.

Lily and I clapped and our parents gaped. "It's true mum," said Lily. "Severus is a wizard and when he realized I was a witch he told me all about the wizarding world and Hogwarts. Please, please can I go?"

"You know a wizard?" Asked McGonagall looking surprised

"I do," said Lily, "He's my best friend and he's going to Hogwarts in the fall too!"

Mum seemed to have found her voice because she turned the Deputy Headmistress and asked, "Is my other daughter a witch too?"

The stern woman glanced at me and responded very carefully, "With muggleborns, magical children born to non-magical parents, only one child is usually born with magic. It's very rare for muggleborns to come from the same parents."

"But Violet can do magic too," exclaimed Lily. "Go on, show her Vi."

I nodded and concentrated on my plate. I wished really hard that it would float so I could go to Hogwarts too. A moment later it had risen to eye-level and stubbornly wouldn't move any farther.

"Oh my!" McGonagall turned to me. "That's very impressive that you can control your magic so well."

I smiled, "Lily and Severus taught me! Mostly Lily though, since she's better at it."

The woman smiled and turned to my parents, "You're very lucky to have two magical children. Sibling relationships sometimes suffer when the other doesn't have the same gift."

Lily frowned and our parents looked sad. "Actually," our father said, "We've got an older daughter who can't do the same… things."

"I apologize," said McGonagall with sincerity. "Don't worry though; it's not always the case."

After that she began explaining the magical world in-depth. Even Lily and I learned things. She demonstrated more magic to our parents and told them all about how safe Hogwarts was and all the things Lily would learn. By the time she left – after arranging to escort our family to Diagon Alley to buy Lily's school supplies – mum and dad were overwhelmed but content. Apparently our strangeness had been weighing heavily on their minds.

It wasn't until I went to bed later that night that reality hit. I wasn't going to see my sister for months while she was away! So I snuck to her room and slept with her that night, listening to her soft voice as she told me about all the letters she was going to send and magic she would learn.

* * *

September 1st came all too soon and I found myself holding my mother's hand as Petunia and Lily said their goodbyes. I had just wiped away my tears after my own private goodbye to my sister and I tugged on my mum's hand when I caught sight of Severus.

"Mummy," I asked, "Can I go say bye to Sev?"

My mother looked up and upon seeing the boy with his sallow and slightly hunched mother released my hand and waved me off. "Alright dear, don't take too long though. He won't want to miss the train."

"Right," I said before dashing over.

"Severus!" The boy tore his eyes away from my older sisters and gave me a faint smile.

"Hey Vi, are you going to miss me?" He asked, sounding almost uncertain.

"Of course! You and Lily will have to write me tons of letters so I'm not lonely and can be ready for when I go to Hogwarts," I gave him a big smile and hugged him around the waist. "Don't forget about me. Oh, and watch out for Lily! My mum's really worried about her."

"I will," he said. "I'll miss you too Vi." He then ruffled my bright red hair, it had lost any trace of blonde in the last year, and turned to find Lily and get on the train. I ran back over to my parents and an upset Petunia.

"What's wrong Tuney?"

"Nothing," she sniffled and turned away. I frowned but when my mum shook her head I stayed silent.

"Look! The train's leaving," said dad. All four of us turned to the huge Hogwarts Express.

Sure enough, a moment later there was a loud whistle and the train started moving down the tracks. Families were waving and siblings were chasing alongside the train as it pulled out. A minute later and it was gone.

I sighed and blinked back tears. It was going to be a long year.

* The phrases with the star were taken from HP and the Half Blood Prince

**Disclaimer** - I do not own anything to do with Harry Potter or JK Rowling's universe!

Another random story... Haha October has been a creative let's just try any random idea month. Oh well, I know I suck at introducing stories like this, but if you like it then please write a review. I'll keep writing it if enough people want to see where it goes.


	2. Chapter 2

"LILY!" I yelled over the crowded platform. She had just stepped off the train with a few girls I recognized from her year. She squinted in my direction and beamed when she caught sight of me.

I saw her hug her friends quickly before heading towards me, dragging her trunk along as if it weighed nothing. I assumed she had charmed it feather-light, that, or she was just really eager to see me.

"Violet it's so good to see you!" She squeezed me tight and lifted my feet off the ground as she spun around.

"…can't breathe!" I gasped.

She released me with a laugh and looked around for our parents. "Mum and dad are on the other side of the barrier," I told her. "They sent me over since we were running late and it was really crowded already."

"Let's go home then, I'm knackered," she said as she dragged me away from the train.

"What about Sev? I didn't see him with you when you got off the train…" I stopped speaking when I saw my sister's face darken.

"We're not speaking at the moment," she bit out. At my concerned look she softened. "I'll explain when we get home, but for right now please drop it?"

"Sure," I said frowning, "As long as you tell me later."

She nodded, looking relieved. I followed her through the barrier and back into the muggle portion of King's Cross.

"Mum, dad, Petunia!" Lily called as she caught sight of the rest of our family. Our parents were grinning happily while Petunia was hanging back looking sullen. Lily hugged our parents and even dragged a reluctant Petunia into a hug.

Once greetings and the traditional 'How were exams?' 'Did you make more friends' 'What did you learn?' questions were out of the way we pushed through the crowds and made our way to the car.

Lily's smile seemed forced and I wondered if it had anything to do with Severus. They had been fighting off and on for the past year and a half, but wouldn't tell me what about. I'd gotten letters from both of them before their OWLs, but hadn't heard from either since then. That wasn't all that unusual, since letters were always scarce when they were busy, but now I thought it might be due to an argument. Neither one will ever drag me into what they fight about, so the lack of communication would make sense.

I was drawn from my thoughts when Lily started speaking about her exams. From what she'd told me they were extremely important to a witch or wizard's career. Lily was smart and I hoped having her to explain things to me would give me an advantage that she herself didn't have.

"I'm positive I got an O on my Charms OWL and in Potions, but I'm not sure about History of Magic. All Binns ever seems to discuss is Goblin Wars and most of my studying was done last minute. I'm terrified that I've gotten all my names and dates mixed up," Lily was saying.

"What about Transfiguration?" I asked. I still remembered the impressive woman who came to visit all those years ago.

"I can't be sure, but I think I did at least an E, maybe even an O," said Lily. "Of course, with Professor McGonagall as a teacher I was bound to do well."

I smiled at the typical response. Lily had developed a profound respect for the woman over the five years she'd spent at Hogwarts. Apparently, she was also great about putting a certain group of Gryffindors in their places. Lily had complained many a time about the troublemakers in her house and loved that the powerful professor didn't put up with it.

"So," I said as I smirked at my sister, "How're things between you and a certain James Potter?"

"Violet!" She exclaimed as our parents laughed from the front seats. Petunia only huffed and faced out the window. "He's still an arrogant toerag and I'm definitely _not _interested in him! I only mentioned _one time_ that he can be a brave and loyal friend, but he's still a bully and I don't like him!"

"Alright," I laugh, "I get it, but I also recall you mentioning he was a star Quidditch player as well…"

She merely groaned and put her head in her hands. "Mum, would you please tell Vi to shut it?"

"Sorry dear, she's been waiting so long to see you I think it's only fair she gets her turn to embarrass you. I recall you doing the same thing to her at Christmas in front of your Grandmother," mum responded and I grinned at Lily's betrayed look.

The rest of the car ride was spent with Lily asking all of us questions about the past few months and even Petunia joined in. She was starting a typing course in London and would be moving out in a month's time.

When we finally reached Cokeworth and arrived at home I followed Lily as she pulled her trunk up to her room. I shut the door behind me and leaned against it as Lily started to unpack. "So what happened between you and Sev?"

Lily sighed and gave me a half-hearted glare. "You're not even going to let me unpack?"

"Not a chance."

Lily groaned and dropped the skirt she was holding back into her Hogwarts trunk. When she went to fall backwards onto her bed I moved to her desk and sat on the wooden chair.

"You remember how Sev and I have been fighting a lot lately?"

"Yeah," I said.

"Well, it's mostly been over his choice of friends. He's spending time with some awful people who're dreadful bullies and I've had trouble dealing with it. A lot of them share his house and are… prejudiced against people like me."

"You mean someone with non-magical parents?"

"Yeah. The wizarding war I told you about is centered on blood-status. The side with the dark wizard I mentioned last summer hates muggleborns and muggles. Many of the pureblooded students in Slytherin support him, plan on joining him, or are neutral. Severus' friends are in the second group and are actually pretty dangerous. I wanted Severus to stay away from them since they only want to cause trouble and learn dark magic.

"Unfortunately, Sev didn't listen and he's… well, changed I suppose. We've been growing farther apart and after our last exam he said something really awful to me. Since then, I've avoided him completely."

"What did he say?" I asked as I reached out to take my sister's hand. Lily sniffled a bit and I realized she was crying.

"H-He called me a _mu-mudblood_. It's that really derogatory term I told you about, the one used for muggleborns." She gave a quiet sob. "It used to sound like a silly insult, but now that I've been at Hogwarts for years I know just how terrible it is to use it. You don't use words like that when you're talking to your best friend. He did it in front of a huge crowd too and I-I-I…" She broke down and I crawled onto her bed with her and wrapped my arms around her as best I could.

"Sev is just a stupid boy Leelee. I'm sure he'll realize how wrong he was and he'll come and apologize on his knees," I consoled.

Lily gave a shaky laugh, "He's already tried but I i-ignored him. I just don't want to deal with all the arguments and problems if he's only going to hurt me i-in the end. Th-this time, I'm done with Severus f-for good."

I didn't respond except for to hug her tighter. I understood what she was saying but didn't, at the same time. Severus was like an older brother to me. It would be strange not to see him almost daily in the summers. I always trailed after Sev and Lily, begging to learn more about magic whenever they were home.

While I couldn't imagine myself trailing after Severus after hearing about what he did to my sister, I also couldn't imagine not seeing him at all when he was such a major influence on my life. I _adored _Severus, idolized him even. Until Lily's explanation, I'd never had anything bad to say about him. He was nice to me and would patiently explain things when Lily tired of all my incessant questions.

"Should I stay away from him?" I asked in a small voice.

Lily sighed and stared intently at me with red-rimmed eyes. "I don't want to think Sev would ever do anything to her you," she said slowly. "But I didn't think he'd ever want to grow up and join a group of prejudiced murderers either.

"Violet sweetie, the people on that side of the war, the Death Eaters, they _hurt_ innocent people. People like you and me and even our family. So please," she begged, "Stay away from him alright?"

"O-Okay," I said in a choked voice. "But I think I'm really going to miss him," I whispered as my own tears started to fall.

Now it was Lily's turn to hug me tightly. "We both will," she admitted. "But you're starting at Hogwarts this fall and we'll have each other whenever we're sad or lonely."

I nodded and we spent the next thirty minutes or so drying our tears before we went back down to join the rest of the family. Even the thought of going to Hogwarts with my older sister failed to lighten my mood.

* * *

The day after Petunia left for London was the day I received my very own Hogwarts letter. Lily had been home for the last five weeks and it was mid-July. In all that time I'd only seen glimpses of Severus when he tried to apologize to Lily, but she'd either slammed the door in his face or not answered it all together.

I'd been feeling guilty and upset about that, since I knew his parents weren't very kind and his summers tended to be awful. Nonetheless, I listened to Lily when she sent me to my room when he came knocking.

When I finally saw the owl with my letter sitting on the back of my chair at the breakfast table I finally forgot about Severus and gave my first real grin of the summer. Lily, mum, and dad had left the owl alone so I could open it on my own.

"Why didn't you wake me sooner?" I whinged at them. They just smiled and gestured for me to take the letter.

I took a deep breath and approached the owl slowly. "Oh do go on Vi! It isn't going to bite you!"

I scowled at Lily and took the letter with trembling hands. My name was written on it in emerald green ink and I opened it almost reverently. After reading the first page and disregarding the supply list entirely, I through my arms in the air and shouted a loud 'Yes!' which startled the poor barn owl.

I'd known I could do magic, but there'd always been a little bit of doubt. I hadn't told Lily, but I'd been afraid that I wouldn't get to be a part of the magical world I'd learned so much about.

The four of us had a lively breakfast in which I tried to get the owl to forgive me by feeding it bits of bacon. Lily gave me a piece of parchment and helped me pen out a reply to the letter.

By the time my reply was sent and breakfast was over I was vibrating with excitement. My parents just shook their heads and told me to go out and play. Lily then proceeded to tell me I couldn't come back until I stopped bouncing off the walls. I replied by telling her I wasn't bouncing, but levitating in my excitement. She laughed when she realized it was true.

Once I stopped floating about I hastened to follow my parents' advice and work off some of my energy outside. So I waved goodbye and ran off.

I didn't pay attention to my feet and soon found myself in the field next to the river where I'd met Severus for the first time. Feeling some of my joy fade at the though of my pseudo-brother I sat down in the shade of the single tree in the field.

I'd only been there for roughly five minutes when I heard footsteps to my left. Turning just my head I saw that it was Severus.

His hands were in his pockets and his head was down. His clothes were threadbare, but better than when he'd been young; I knew it was because he'd been selling his potions for the past two years. I could make out his slightly curved nose and I thought of how straight it had been before puberty. His hair was looking lank and his skin paler than usual.

Seeing him look so sick and dejected erased all that Lily had said he'd done. This was Severus, he was family, and I couldn't just leave him alone.

Before I was consciously aware of what I was doing I had jumped up and started running towards him. "Severus!" I cried.

He jerked up at his name and his eyes widened as I threw my arms around him and started sobbing. "Violet…"

"I've missed you Sev," I cried into his black shirt. "I know you and Lily got into a fight, but you've never fought this long before and I haven't seen you! Lily's upset and I think you really hurt her, she even told me not to see you anymore! I miss you a lot though and I don't want you to go away, especially now that I'm finally going to Hogwarts with you guys.

"Please, Sev! You know I don't have friends my age, you and Lily are all I've got now that Tuney is gone! Can you stop fighting? I'm tired of not having anyone to go to when Lily is out!" I finished with a shuddering breath and buried my face in his stomach.

"Vi," he sounded pained. "I've tried to make up with Lily, I really have! I, I just don't think she's going to forgive me this time." He pulled away from me, "And if Lily doesn't want you to see me then I don't think you should ignore her wishes."

"B-But Sev!" I whimpered. "I don't care about your mean friends or you using bad words. I don't want you to insult Lily but I also don't want this row to go on anymore!"

He sighed and started walking to the tree I'd been sitting under. I clung to his side and wouldn't let go until he sat down and motioned for me to join him.

"We can talk today," said Severus, "But after this I want you to listen to your sister until I can make things up with her."

"You'll keep trying?"

"I will. If she forgives me I can talk to you again, but until then I've got to keep my distance," I nodded sullenly. "If you ever need me for anything though, and you can't go to Lily, come to me – but only if it's an emergency!" He added when I hugged him.

"Alright," I sniffed. "Can you tell me about Hogwarts one last time? I just received my letter this morning!"

Sev gave me a faint smile and started talking. We stayed there a few hours as I told Sev about recent events and he told me about the things taught at Hogwarts. When it was finally time to say goodbye I almost started crying again.

"You'll try to be friends with Lily again?"

"I will," he said. "I promise."

* * *

I didn't see Severus again for the rest of the summer, but Lily did. Apparently he was still trying to apologize, but she hadn't forgiven him as of yet.

It was September 1st and Lily and I were hugging our parents goodbye on the crowded platform.

"We'll miss you girls," dad said with a sad smile. Our mum just dabbed at her tears and pulled us in for another hug. Her dark red hair mixed with ours as she clung to us and mumbled something along the lines of, 'Even my baby is leaving me.'

Lily and I gently disentangled ourselves and took turns hugging dad one last time. His light blue eyes were so like Petunia's that I felt sad for a moment that she hadn't come. I knew though, that she resented the magical world and was simultaneously grateful that she wasn't there to ruin the mood.

"Vi, we've got to hurry or we'll miss the train!" I shrieked and pulled from my dad's embrace.

"Love you mum, dad!" I called back as I hastened to follow Lily onto the train. I turned and waved one last time before I clambered on with my trunk. Moments later the whistle blew and the train was off.

"D'you want to sit with me? Or do you want to try to find some first years to sit with?" Lily asked as we made our way down the narrow aisle.

"I'll sit with you, if that's alright," I said. "Besides, I'll meet other first years on the boats and once I'm sorted. Though I still can't believe you won't tell me how that happens…" I mumbled the last bit and she laughed.

"Sorry, it's tradition."

I pouted at that, but stopped when she reached a compartment that still had room. Sighing she stood in the doorway and started speaking, "I can't believe I'm doing this, but can my sister and I sit with you? Most other compartments are already full."

"Of course, love, a handsome man such as myself would never reject such a beautiful lady's requ-Ouch! James, what was that for?"

"Forgive him Lily, he's been confounded one too many times. You're welcome to sit with us."

There was some snickering in the compartment and Lily shot me an apologetic smile before entering the compartment and waving me in after her. Inside were four boys my sister's age. There was a boy with sandy blonde hair and light brown eyes by the window. He smiled in our direction before returning to the book in his lap. The boy next to him was much shorter and slightly plump. He had mousy brown hair and dark, watery eyes. He squeaked out a "Hi Lily!" before dropping his head and flushing.

On the other side of the compartment were two dark haired boys. The one next to the window was taller and slightly broader. He had grey eyes, black hair, and a cocky smirk. The boy next to him was tall and thin, though shorter than his friend, and was giving my sister the most ridiculous puppy eyes that I had to fight not to giggle.

"I didn't know you had a sister Lily! Why didn't you tell me?" the brunette with hazel eyes was saying.

"I'm sorry Potter, I wasn't aware it was my duty to tell you my life story," bit out my sister with false politeness. Ah, so that was the boy infatuated with my sister.

"Tsk, tsk," said the boy next to Potter. "James you'll have to stay on top of these things if you ever want to marry dear, sweet Lily here."

"Sirius!" Both James and Lily cried at the same time.

I finally couldn't hold it anymore and started laughing. Lily glared and the boys turned their attention towards me. "Sorry," I said a bit hysterically, "It's just that Lily's mentioned a few things about a certain James Potter who 'just won't take no for an answer.'"

The other boys laughed at that and my sister and James flushed. "So, mini-Evans," said Sirius, "D'you have a name?"

"I'm Violet," I said cautiously. I knew Lily didn't mind these boys anymore, but Sev had complained enough that I wondered.

"A beautiful name for a beautiful girl," he exclaimed. "I'm the illustrious Sirius Black, you've probably heard of me?" I merely raised an eyebrow and he groaned, "Oh yes, she's definitely your sister Evans, there's no doubt about that."

Everyone just ignored him and so I followed suit. Potter spoke up without even glancing toward his friend. "I'm James Potter and those two are Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew," he said gesturing to the other side of the compartment. "Of course, Sirius had already made a fool of himself so I won't have to introduce him."

"Hey!" He shouted as I once again started laughing.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all," I said politely with a smile still on my face.

Black was frowning at Lily, "Hey Evans, I thought you were a muggleborn!"

"I am," she said with a curious look towards the other teen. "Why?"

"But your sister's a witch, you can't be a muggleborn! She'd be a muggle then!"

"No, we're muggleborns," explained Lily, "Our older sister is a muggle and our parents are, but me and Violet here lucked out."

This time it was Remus' turn to frown. "I've never heard of sibling muggleborns. I mean, I guess it would happen with twins, but not with siblings years apart."

"We're just special I suppose," sniffed Lily. "Now does anyone want to help us put our trunks up?"

With that the conversation switched over to Quidditch and Hogwarts professors as Lily and I settled on the other side of James Potter. Soon Lily and Remus got up to go to the Prefect's meeting and I was left with the three remaining boys. Of course, Lily had threatened to hex them if they so much as looked at me wrong.

"So mini-Evans, what house do you think you'll be sorted in?" Black asked.

"I dunno," I said. "Lily thinks I could be in Ravenclaw, but I'm not so sure. I mean, I do well in school and all, but I don't _enjoy_ studying. Sev used to tell me I was clever enough to be a Slytherin, but I've got no ambition. That leaves either Gryffindor or Hufflepuff, I'm not sure which."

"Sev?" Black asked.

"Oh, Severus Snape," I explained, "He was my sister's best friend and like an older brother to me, but Lily says I can't talk to him anymore."

The boys shared glances I couldn't understand. "That's probably for the best," Potter said carefully, "He's friends with some dangerous people."

"That's what Lily said," I mumbled. "But I miss him since I didn't have many muggle friends."

"Who needs muggle friends anyway? You'll meet tons of friends at Hogwarts," Black assured me.

I smiled at him and pushed my bangs out of my face, "Thanks!"

"Blimey," Potter said, "You've got purple eyes!"

I laughed. "Only sometimes. Most of the time they look like a really dark blue."

"Is that why you were name violet?" Pettigrew asked.

"No, it was just another flower name to go with the family tradition. My eyes didn't look this way until I was a toddler."

"It must be some unwritten law that Evans women have incredible eyes. I've never seen either of your eye colors before!" Black said.

I blushed, but didn't deny it. Lily and I had always gotten complements for our unusual eyes. "Could you tell me about classes? I'm afraid I'll be behind all the other kids since Lily wouldn't let me practice the spells before I came."

The rest of the hour was spent as they told me funny stories and assured me I'd be fine. They warned me about the Slug Club my sister was a part of and suggested pranks that I'd never dream of doing.

By the time Lily came back I was twice as excited and about ready to levitate again. I practically tackled her when she came in and started chattering about the things they'd told me.

"I swear, if you've corrupted my sister before we've even gotten to Hogwarts I'll make it so your entire first week is spent in the hospital wing!"

"Us? Corrupt your baby sister?" said Potter with false incredulity.

"We'd never!" finished Black.

Lupin snorted and my sister groaned, "I knew this was a bad idea!"

The banter started back up again for a short while until Lily banished the boys so we could change into our robes. I changed into the uniform from Madam Malkin's and Lily helped me fasten my black school robes over it. Once we were done we switched places with the boys and stood in the hallway to wait.

"Lily," called the familiar voice. Both of us turned to see Severus heading our way. He glanced down to me for a moment and then back up to Lily. "Could we talk?"

I mentally crossed my fingers but was disappointed when Lily refused and asked Severus leave in a very dangerous voice. He complied without much of a struggle and was gone by the time the boys finished changing.

"Lily? Is something wrong?" Potter asked. I was surprised he noticed, but then again, the teen did claim to be in love with my sister.

"Snape tried to get me to speak with him," she said in a broken voice. "I refused."

"Oh Lily, I'm so sorry," he said sincerely. "I know he used to be your friend."

I blinked. From what Severus had told me Potter was supposed to be a self-centered jerk. Even Lily mentioned he was arrogant from time to time, though she did say he'd matured lately. I'd teased Lily about the boy, but I'd never thought he was someone she could actually date. Now though, seeing him comfort her, I was reevaluating that belief.

I sat and held her hand as the boys tried to comfort and distract her. When the train finally rolled to a stop she was once again laughing and no trace of her earlier distress was visible.

"Leelee! Where am I supposed to go? I can't reach my trunk and I don't want to miss the boats," I said as I panicked and looked around frantically.

"Sh, Vi it'll be alright. Everybody's trunks will be taken up to the school separately. When we step off Hagrid will be calling for the first years and I'll walk you over, okay?"

"Right," I squeaked.

We gave hasty goodbyes to the sixth year boys and joined the other students in squeezing through the narrow aisle to exit the train. Lily let me cling to her arm as she dragged me off and towards a large man bellowing, "Firs'-years over 'ere!"

Lily walked right up to him and smiled as I marveled at his height. "All right there Hagrid?" asked Lily.

"O' course Lily, how'd yer OWLs go?" He beamed at her through a wild beard and I could have sworn his black eyes were twinkling down at her.

"Brilliant Hagrid, I was really pleased. I'm actually here to drop off my sister though, do you mind keeping an eye on her for me? She's nervous about the sorting," Lily said in a conspiring tone.

"Lily! I am not!" I whispered as I felt my cheeks flush.

"Ah! Violet right? Lily's tol' me all about you," the man boomed with a smile. "Come right this way, we'll be headin' to the castle in the boats."

Lily gave my hand a final squeeze and left me to follow Hagrid with the crowd of eleven year olds. When we got down to the lake I clambered in with a boy and two girls.

The dark haired girl was the first to speak. "H-Hullo," she stammered. "I'm Mary Wright. What're your names?"

The boy stopped fiddling with his collar and managed a mumbled, "'M Reginald Cattermole."

"I'm Violet Evans. It's a pleasure to meet you," I said.

The girl with light brown hair and a tan complexion sniffed. "I'm Christine Warrington and I'm a pureblood. I've heard of Cattermole but not of Evans or Wright, they sound like muggle names."

The boy looked down and the other girl looked confused. "I'm a muggleborn, if that's what you're asking," I said with a frown.

"Oh! Me too," Mary chimed in.

Warrington turned her nose up and faced away, "My older brother told me not to associate with mudbloods and bloodtraitors – it's just my luck that I get on a boat with three of them!"

"Well _my_ sister told me not to associate with prejudiced twats. So I guess we'll both just have to deal with it," I hissed venomously.

An awkward silence ensued until the castle came into view. None of us could help it, we gasped and our jaws dropped at the sight. It looked just like it did when I dreamed of it, which was rather odd, but it was all the more impressive for being real.

Not even Warrington could help but whisper excitedly as we approached. Once we got to the castle she left to 'associate with purer people,' though the Wright girl stuck by my side and gave a quick thanks.

"Professor McGonagall told me there were people like that when she delivered my letter, but I didn't know it was so common!" Mary whispered. She was a small girl, only as tall as I was, and had dark brown curls and wide eyes.

"Don't worry," I assured her. "My older sister is a witch here and while there are people like that, most of the school is nice and doesn't care about blood-status."

"That's good," she breathed.

We poured into the castle together with the rest of the first years and introduced ourselves to another girl, Chelsea Bones. We three walked side-by-side through the enormous entrance hall as McGonagall led us past the large doors on the right. The voices coming from the doors alerted us to the fact that we weren't entering the great all yet. Instead, we were led to a smaller chamber

"Attention first years!" Professor McGonagall called from the front of the crowd. Mary and I jumped in surprise and Chelsea snickered. "I am Professor McGonagall, the transfiguration teacher as well as the Deputy Headmistress here at Hogwarts. In a short while you will join in the start-of-term banquet, but before that, you will first be sorted into your houses. The Sorting will decide not only your house, but it will also play a role in deciding your friends and classmates here at Hogwarts. You will eat with, sleep with, and attend classes with your housemates for the next seven years."

She went on to give a brief description of each house and the point system. When she mentioned we would be sorted in front of the entire school I felt Mary sway on her feet next to me and grabbed her hand in mine. McGonagall then left us in the chamber to wait and anxious whispers broke out.

"How d'you think we'll be sorted?" Chelsea asked as soon as McGonagall was gone.

"I dunno, my sister wouldn't tell me a thing about it," I complained.

Chelsea sighed, "My older brother wouldn't tell me either – he's a second year and a Hufflepuff. I'm hoping I'll be sorted there too. What about you Mary?"

She blushed at our attention. "I was thinking Hufflepuff. I like the idea of being loyal and hardworking," she admitted.

Chelsea nodded along, "Yeah, but Gryffindor wouldn't be so bad. That's where my Aunt Amelia went and she's working at the ministry now. I just don't know if I'm brave enough."

"My sister Lily is in Gryffindor. She told me that not everyone is particularly brave. I think you go to whatever house suits you best, even if you don't exemplify _every_ trait it's known for. Otherwise, I don't think anyone would be sorted."

"Yeah, you're probably right. Now if only we could figure out _how_ it is we'll be sorted!" Chelsea groaned as she began to pace back and forth. Mary just clutched my left hand as I nervously twirled my hair with my right.

What felt like an eternity later McGonagall seemed to reappear out of thin air. Chelsea stopped her nervous pacing at once. "The sorting will begin in a moment. Please form a line and follow me," McGonagall announced.

Everyone scrambled to obey and we were led back through the entrance hall and to the double doors. I took a shaky breath and tilted my head up just as McGonagall thrust the doors wide open.

My jaw dropped.


End file.
